1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an information processing system comprising a storage apparatus connected to a higher-level device or to another storage apparatus to enable communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the prior art, fault monitoring systems have been proposed with the object of accurately ascertaining faults occurring within a large-scale computer system, in time series order of occurrence. Such a fault monitoring system comprises a plurality of nodes, which are mutually independent computers; a crossbar data switch which switches signal paths between nodes; a crossbar control device which controls driving of the crossbar data switch; a slave service processor, connected to nodes, the crossbar data switch, and the crossbar control device, which monitors faults and upon detection of a fault immediately outputs prescribed fault information; and a master service processor which, by receiving fault information, monitors faults in time series order of occurrence (see for example Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2000-353154).
Further, a service processor switching method has been proposed, with the object of rapidly and reliably performing switching processing upon the occurrence of faults in a plurality of service processors, while enabling continuous operation of the electronic computer system. This service processor switching method is applied to an electronic computer system comprising an electronic computer main unit and a plurality of service processors; by storing, in a configuration information storage area provided within the main storage apparatus of the electronic computer main unit, configuration information for the electronic computer main unit which is referenced during operation to perform monitoring and control of the electronic computer main unit and to exchange information with operators, common access from a plurality of service processors is made possible, and upon occurrence of a master or service processor fault, a backup service processor reads the configuration information and executes continuous operation of the electronic computer system (see for example Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 6-83657).
Further, an information processing device initialization setting method has been proposed with the object of shortening the initialization setting time of an information processing device in which a SVP (service processor), adopting a dual-redundant hot-standby configuration, performs initialization settings. In this proposed method, a single computer system is configured from a plurality of systems of arithmetic units, and two SVPs adopt a hot-standby design. The two initialization setting execution means comprise a two-SVP initialization setting procedure in which two SVPs perform initialization setting in parallel, and a one-SVP initialization setting procedure in which one SVP performs all initialization settings; at the start of initialization settings, two connection switching means for two access paths between each of the SVPs and arithmetic units are both in the connected state, and the two SVPs use the two-SVP initialization setting procedure to perform initialization setting in parallel. If, during the period until completion of initialization setting, two fault monitoring means detect a fault in the other-system SVP, the two connection switching means are employed to separate the two access paths connected to the other-system SVP, and one SVP uses the one-SVP initialization setting procedure to perform all initialization setting (see for example Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-22712).
However, in a storage apparatus of the prior art, an SVP comprises the functions of a terminal for maintenance operations which performs equipment settings to make various settings (environment settings and similar) and maintenance operations for the various portions of the storage apparatus which is the object of operations, and functions such as acquisition of fault information relating to the storage apparatus, notification of a maintenance center terminal in a remote location of the acquired fault information, and SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) notification of a client terminal. In order to performs the functions of a maintenance operations terminal, the SVP must afford ease of operation in device setting and maintenance tasks; for example, a commercial OS (Operating System) having a GUI (Graphical User Interface) is employed. On the other hand, in order for the SVP to perform functions for notification to a remote maintenance center terminal of fault information and for SNMP notification of client terminals, the operating states of each portion of a storage apparatus to be monitored must be monitored constantly, and when a fault or other event occurs in a portion of the storage apparatus, information on the event must be reliably sent to the remote maintenance center terminal, client terminal or similar, so that high reliability is required.
However, if an attempt is made to perform monitoring and notification operations with the high degree of reliability required using the same hardware as the SVP, which functions as a maintenance operations terminal to make device settings and perform maintenance operations, and for which ease of operation is demanded, then an application program to perform the above-described monitoring and notification tasks must run on the above-described commercial OS, so that degradation of the reliability of the monitoring and notification tasks becomes a problem.